Category Archives: Photographs: Italy

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Stone Walls, Midday Light

October 20, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Bright midday light on a narrow street at Castello di Ama, Italy

The Chianti region is, of course, full of vineyards and olive orchards and of wineries and producers of olive oil. There are vineyards everywhere — in the valleys, draped across the hillsides, and even on the tops of ridges. All of this is in a region full of historical structures, often centered around very old castles and churches and small villages.

One day we decide to visit this small place, a former village now (or so it seems) owned by the people who operate the surrounding vineyards. The little town, with its stone buildings and very narrow streets remains.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Caffe, Tabaccheria, and Bicyclist

October 19, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A bicyclist passes in front of a caffe’ and a tabaccheria, Florence.

Most of my photographs, nature and urban, tend to be made at the “good light” times of day — morning and evening — when the light softens and the colors warm. But the midday light has a charm of its own, especially this summer light in Italy. It is a surprising combination of stark from the high angle of the sun and soft from the frequent hazy quality of the atmosphere.

With this in mind, we were out and about during the daytime hours in Florence on this late August day. Things often happen quickly when shooting street photographs, and subjects and juxtapositions occur so quickly that one must often simply raise the camera and photograph intuitively, with little or no time to ponder. This was one of those moments. Somehow the slightly off-kilter cyclist appeared right in front of the metal door of the shop in the background just as the pedestrian was about the exit the frame at the left.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Ponte Vecchio

October 17, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Buildings on the Ponte Vecchio bridge across the Arno River, Florence/Firenze

I have mentioned before that I often like to not know too much about a place before my first visit — I love the experience of discovering it in my own way once I arrive. While some research is a good thing, too much can compromise the experience. As a result, it isn’t unusual for me to arrive in a new location completely unaware of some thing that everyone else knows about. (Someone I know still tells the story of my first visit to Arches National Park…) This is a long way of saying that I did not really know about the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge until I saw it moments before I walked across the first time.

I now understand that this bridge across the Arno River in Florence has a very long history, but when I first saw it I simply responded to it on the basis of what I saw. And I had never seen a bridge quite like this before. The old span is almost entirely lined with buildings, many quite old, and apparently it was long ago the location of butcher shops and more recently of jewelers, art sellers, and souvenir shops. We arrived late in the day, just as the sunset light was coming on. I photographed this scene in the shaded side of the bridge, narrowing the composition to focus on the shapes, colors, and textures of the old buildings.

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Walking Man, Narrow Street

October 16, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A man walks up a narrow street in Florence, Italy.

This past summer we had the chance to do some extensive travel. The “main event” was a five-week trip that began in New York City and continued to London, Paris, Heidelberg, and various places in Italy. After a week in the wine and olive country of the Chianti region we returned to Florence for a few days before our return flight to the US. My only regret about this last phase of the journey was that we didn’t give ourselves nearly enough time in Florence!

Yes, Florence is now crowded with tourists, and in a place that isn’t that large to begin with the effect is hard to ignore. But putting that aside for a moment, Florence (at least to this observer) combines many things that seem typical of Italy with its own unique qualities. We stayed in the old part of Florence, between the Arno and the Duomo and not far from the Uffizi Museum. The streets here are strikingly narrow and lined with tall buildings, almost all in tones of brown to tan. The effect on the light reminds me in ways of being in the canyons of the American Southwest, though populated and perhaps more twisty, not by necessity following the effect of gravity on water. Unlike American cities, there are very few obvious signs in most places. And if you go out to the right places at the right times of day you can find nearly empty streets like this one.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Category Archives: Photographs: Italy

Stone Walls, Midday Light

Caffe, Tabaccheria, and Bicyclist

Ponte Vecchio

Walking Man, Narrow Street

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.